


Hide and Seek

by RomancebyFaye



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, Biting, Cardassian Courtship, Cardassian Physiology, M/M, Misunderstandings, Oral Sex, Scent Marking, Sexual Tension, did i mention biting?, not extreme tickling, small mentions of tickling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-18
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-02-13 15:50:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2156301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomancebyFaye/pseuds/RomancebyFaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An innocent question about an ancient Earth game has some unexpected ramifications.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little Garak/Bashir fanfic. Contains M/M pairing and will eventually contain homosexual sex explicitly detailed. It will also contain my own wild speculation about Cardassian anatomy, naughty bits most definitely included. If that’s not to your liking, move along. Or don’t. Just don’t complain to me about the contents since you have been warned.
> 
> I don’t own these characters, no infringement is intended. This is merely written for my own perverted fun and - hopefully - for the enjoyment of other equally perverted people.
> 
> These guys happen to have the wonderful luck to be completely made up, and as such, don’t have to worry about safe sex. You do. Please always engage in sex responsibly.

Hide and Seek  
Chapter One

  
  
“Hide and seek, you say?” Garak looked up over his glass inquiringly. His lunch partner was once again trying to pry for more information about Cardassian culture.  
  
“Yes. It’s a game that’s been around on Earth for centuries. I was wondering if Cardassian children play anything similar.”  
  
Julian was wolfing down bites of his replicated _lasagna_ in between discussions of classic younglings literature. He always ate with a gusto that had unnerved Garak when he first saw it. Humans didn’t take the care for mealtime that was inherently part of his Cardassian nature. This particular Human was worse than most, chewing extra large bites of the oddly named meat pastry while quaffing great gulps of water as if someone were going to come by and snatch it out from under his exotic unridged nose.  
  
“Is this some more of your Terran culture? Similar to those horrid fairy tales of aquatic women longing after some bipedal land dweller with an abandon that borders on fanatic? Even though she’d done nothing more than lay her eyes on him?”  
  
Garak never missed an opportunity to toss out an insult to the divine Doctor Bashir. He always responded so wonderfully, even if he had no idea of what the verbal sparring really meant to the Cardassian. Still, what Julian didn’t know allowed for a wealth of brazen sexual repartee for himself.  
  
“You leave The Little Mermaid alone. I’d rather read that a thousand time over than that horrendous bedtime story you introduced me to - What was it? Resha and the State?”  
  
A tiny bit of sauce escaped on Julian’s scathing enunciation of the ‘s’ in state. Garak followed it with his eyes, never moving his head from its canted position as the offending particle landed on the back of his left hand, which was resting on the table. He sat, unmoving, for several seconds, staring at the tiny red dot on his skin. If only it were saliva jostled from Bashir’s mouth by more forceful, erotic means. Of course, the good Doctor had no way of knowing Garak’s innermost thoughts. Sheepishly, Julian used a napkin to wipe the offending spot from Garak’s hand. After the spot was gone, Garak’s eyes traveled back up to Julian’s face as he reanimated.  
  
“Really Doctor, at least our tales serve to instill the values of turning over any useful information to those for whom it may be of use. It teaches younglings the pride of gathering knowledge and the value of having it for exchange. Most of the Earth tales for your younglings focus on romance and love, something that’s hardly suited to minds in such an impressionable state.”  
  
Truth be told, he had enjoyed the fairy tales in his own way. They certainly had given him a glimpse into the Human psyche that implied some deep seeded need for adventure. Only a fool would underestimate a race that had traveled so far in such a short time. Out here among the stars, so far from their originating Earth, the Human race had made an undeniable mark into some of the farthest reaches of known space. Still, Garak was amused at the weakness of placing such high demand for love and romance on Human offspring at such an early age.  
  
“The man she heard the secret from is executed in the end!”  
  
Julian was still positively livid with that part of the story; as Garak had known he would be when he had exchanged the book with him a few weeks ago. Ah, how he wished he had been there to see those beautiful green eyes wide from his sorely offended sensibilities - as Garak was sure they would have been on that final part of the book.  
  
“And in the original tale your fish girl dissolves to sea foam because she can’t deign to thrust a dagger where it belonged - into the heart of the man who betrayed her!”  
  
“That’s not the story we tell now!” Julian’s voice had risen delightfully and he was so preoccupied that, for a moment, his poor abused meal had a moment to rest. Oh yes, he had been well and truly flustered when Garak had come to discuss the tale only to refer to the ancient original text that the Human hadn’t expected him to be aware of. Or had he? Garak had more than a sneaking suspicion the young man had expected him to do his own research. Yet another reason why the dear was so very enchanting.  
  
“Well, perhaps you should! At least then your younglings might understand how foolish it is to cast their hearts where they are not wanted!”  
  
Ah, yes. Perhaps, Garak thought, he should listen to his own words. He sat, waiting for the next thrust and parry, but Bashir paused, the irritation on his face frozen for a split second before the bared teeth were hidden away as he smirked a bit.  
  
“Wait just a second. I believe we were talking about games? NOT those books again?”  
  
Garak smiled as he inclined his head, so the doctor had remembered. It was so invigorating to drag him off topic and see how long it took him to come back to what he had really asked. This time Bashir had hardly been drawn away at all; but sometimes, Garak succeeded in making him forget his question entirely. The Cardassian put on a quizzical face before he ‘remembered’ what they were talking about originally.  
  
“Hide and seek was it? A game played by your younglings. I’m ever so intrigued. Do tell me, how is it played?”  
  
Garak sat back, a face of inquiring good humor painted on. He really never had heard of this game, but the name was so incredibly unsubtle. Why, it told you exactly what it was. Cardassian younglings did indeed play a very similar game, if the title implied all that he thought. He settled back in his chair and waited for the explanation as the Doctor leaned forward on the table, steepling his hands in front of him.  
  
“Well, usually there is a large group of children - but it can be played with only two - of whom one is designated as ‘it’. The others hide inside of previously arranged boundaries while ‘it’ covers their eyes and counts at the chosen base, usually a tree or something like that. When they are done counting, they go in search of the others.”  
  
This was not the game Cardassian younglings played. So far it was describing something far more suited to courting or married couples. Had some of the rare smuggled text of a different sort of Cardassian reading found its way into the Human’s hands?  
  
Julian looked up to see a most strange expression on Garak’s face. His eye ridges were lowered, hooding his blue irises, and Julian felt the distinct impression that Garak was suspicious of him for some reason. In an instant, the expression vanished behind an inquiring smile.  
  
“And how exactly do the other younglings know when the - ‘it’ - has finished counting, assuming this is played in a large enough area for them to be out of earshot.”  
  
“Most of the time, after they are finished counting, the child designated as ‘it” shouts out to warn the others. Something to the effect of “Ready or not, here I come!”  
  
Julian hadn’t exactly shouted, but he had purposely raised his voice a bit more than was really polite in a dining establishment. He had only meant to poke at Garak a bit, to see if he could startle him. Instead Garak had done the opposite, frozen in place with that same hooded expression. His mouth was slightly parted and Julian was sure he heard a near imperceptible hiss.  
  
Without returning to his animated, teasing self, Garak murmured softly, “Do go on.”  
  
Julian was thrown a bit off kilter. With a bit less confidence, he continued.  
  
“I mean, there’s not really much more to the game. ‘It’ goes of in search of the others and- and at least the way I played it- the first one found has to become ‘it’ for the next round. Unless they reach base before the ‘it’ can catch them after they are found out.”  
  
The unfathomable look was still there. Julian felt himself flushing and squirmed in his seat a bit. Sometimes, he was certain there was a frission of - something else - during the times he spent with Garak. In between all the half truths and bold lies, having to sift and sieve through each word, each expression, each intent; he was sure that he let many a truth slip through his fingers and many a lie settle on him like a certainty. But sometimes, sometimes, he would catch a look or a tone, a touch or an innuendo that had an undercurrent of something different. Something dangerous. Something secret. Something…sensual.  
  
His heart pounded none to gently in his chest.  
  
“So,” Julian squeaked out before nervously clearing his throat, “do your, em, younglings play any such game?”  
  
Julian couldn’t hold the intense look Garak was delivering. What had he stepped into? Another cultural difference? But this time it wasn’t something fun to debate and tease and provoke with good-natured argumentativeness. Somehow, Julian was coming to realize that he had stepped into some unknown territory. He had to drop his eyes to his plate, even though with the way his stomach was doing somersaults he knew he couldn’t actually eat. Garak shifted forward, almost imperceptibly, but enough so that Julian looked back up from his plate.  
  
“No.” The voice was silken and soft. A whisper meant for Julian’s ears only.  
  
Were the ridges on Garak’s shoulders darkening?  
  
“Our younglings do not play this game.” The usual cadence was there, the geniality was not.  
  
Garak grasped the edges of the table as he stood. Julian shrunk in his chair a bit as Garak leaned down over him. Close. The hiss he heard earlier was repeated as Garak drew a deep breath in between his slightly bared teeth. Julian felt a thump of arousal as blood rushed to his groin. Another steady hiss of breath being drawn in in that peculiar way. This time there was no mistaking the dilating pupils or the darkening of the ridges visible on each side of the Cardassian’s neck.  
  
Without another word, Garak stood up and walked away from the table.  
  
*****  
  
With a vengeance, Garak stabbed his embroidery needle through the collar of the dress he was making. Hide and Seek? Truly the good Doctor was joking. A game for younglings! Really! And how Julian had recoiled at the idea of games of discipline and fortitude. But Terran younglings played a game far more indecent than anything he could have conceived!  
  
The thrill of the chase, the hunt, the chance to use his full range of senses to seek out the one who was daring to evade his pursuit. The scent of musk and heat and blood. The tang of excitement and fear in the air. The promise of expected resistance when the prize was discovered. The expectation of flight from the delicious prey as it attempted to evade the hunter it knew would take chase. The rush of blood as the hunter and prey seek to outmaneuver each other until the prey missteps, purposely or not, to fall into the clutches of the hunter.  
  
Oh no. Younglings did not play such a game.  
  
Did the Doctor know? Had he thrown down a blatant invitation? He had hinted that the game could be played with only two participants. But then, how often in the beginning of their relationship had Garak delighted with the blatant sexual invitation that turned out to be only misunderstanding due to inter-cultural differences. But, there had certainly been no mistaking the rush of sexual musk that had rolled over his tongue when he exerted a hint of dominance over the young Julian Bashir.  
  
The poor Andorian silk collar bore the brunt of Garak’s frustration as he attempted to sift through his own weight of truth and lies.                


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gauntlet is thrown. Will Julian rise to the challenge?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See chapter one for notes.

 Hide and Seek  
Chapter Two

* * *

  
  
  
Doctor Julian Bashir was having trouble concentrating on his work. Somehow, the report of Bajoran cave mold as an extremely viable and effective treatment for a wide range of skin irritations wasn’t nearly as fascinating today as it had been yesterday. He ran his hand over his face. It was past time for lunch. The few times they had argued more passionately, Garak had always been waiting for Julian the next day whether they had plans or not. Julian, unaware of the implications of the previous day’s heated argument with the Cardassian, never failed to arrive to a smiling Garak.  
  
But this time, it was different. They hadn’t both left the table in a huff and - Julian was sure - each acting a bit more offended by the other than they truly were. This time Garak had truly responded in some way that Julian couldn’t understand.  
  
The PADD drooped in his fingers as he thought over that. Despite his own dark kept secret, he _could not_ understand. He was unable to, incapable of, and completely devoid of the necessary information he needed for understanding. He was used to the veiled meanings and purposeful misdirection that always came with Garak, but this time those had been missing. Nothing had been given for him to mull over or divert his attention from some truth carefully layered in some seemingly innocent statement.  
  
Did he dare to go down to Quark’s? Would Garak still be angry? Had he been angry? Had Julian tread somewhere he had no business treading without being aware? Damn the Cardassian anyway! How often had he been pushed and pulled at the whim of that devious grey skinned lizard?  
  
But, that look.  
  
That curious sensation of having the powerful creature standing over him, taking in his scent.  
  
Julian had done some research, though precious little of it was to be had. Cardassians considered the viewing of their dead taboo by anyone other than another Cardassian. They certainly weren’t very open to other races about any of their own databanks, medical or otherwise. Because of this, medical information on them was near to non existent, especially to a member of the Federation. As such, he had spent hours searching for the reason why Garak had made such strange hissing noises. He had finally found a very brief mention in a Bajoran study done by a scientist in league with a resistance cell during the Cardassian Occupation.  
  
Julian tried not to think too much about how this information was gathered.  
  
From what he could tell, there was a set of glands located near the back of the tongue, situated on either side. When the tongue was arched a certain way, air could be inhaled and forced over them. Julian was near certain they would function like the Jacobson’s organ in snakes on Earth. Those organs were what allowed snakes to ‘taste’ the air as it were. A wealth of information that Julian couldn’t begin to fathom would be readily available to a Cardassian using this ability.  
  
And Garak had doubtlessly used it on Julian.  
  
While the Cardassian’s hearing may not be as good as his own, Julian shuddered with the thought of what had been perceived with those intakes of breath. As a human, he wasn’t completely immune to pheromones, but he didn’t distinctly perceive when they were influencing him. He wasn’t foolish enough to delude himself into thinking that Garak would be the same. The thought of what must have been pouring into the air against his control, only to be taken in and most probably deciphered instantly by Garak’s extra senses frightened Julian. It also sent a shiver down his spine at the thought of what could be used against him.  
  
He tried to convince himself it was a shiver of terror.  
  
His feet carried him out of the infirmary and in the direction of the usual table at Quark’s.  
  
*****  
  
A shade shifted in the shadow of a pylon, waiting to see if the Doctor would show.  
  
Garak felt a genuine rush of relief when the familiar figure came into his view.  
  
He watched as Julian searched the crowd, feeling pleasure as the young man's shoulders fell when Garak appeared to be absent. By the time Bashir had flumped down into a chair, Garak was already on his way to meet him at the table.  
  
“Is this seat taken?”  
  
Garak was careful to arrange his face into the expected mask. A wide and entirely too welcoming smile greeted him.  
  
“Garak! I wasn’t sure if you would-”  
  
Julian pulled up short, a mild moment of panic frozen onto his golden features before Garak took pity on him. Yesterday had certainly affected his dear Doctor as well, if that face were any indication.  
  
“Well, it seems we’ve had a wonderful moment of serendipity. What with us both showing up for lunch on an unscheduled day.”  
  
Garak always looked for Julian after any particularly bold and strenuous arguments. He would much rather have the lovely creature join him afterward for an even more intense match in his quarters, but alas, the poor dear was so lost when it came to Cardassian courting. For all Garak’s subtlety and the Doctor’s obvious intelligence - even if it was accompanied by an alarming degree of naiveté - none of his methods had managed to push the issue to fruition.

Last nights exercise of anger on an innocent Andorian silk collar had brought him to a new conclusion: Julian Bashir was hopeless.  
  
Perhaps it was time to throw out a hint bold enough for even a Human to understand. Pausing to arrange his face in the perfect mirror of shocked remembrance, he stood bolt up. Bashir jumped in his chair, effectively startled by the movement.  
  
“I do apologize, I completely forgot that I had to deliver a very special order to someone. It completely slipped my mind!” Garak turned and strode away with a purpose before halting as if a thought had just occurred to him. He turned around and approached the flabbergasted Bashir.  
  
“Perhaps, we can continue our discussion from yesterday at another time?” Garak leaned forwards, raising his brow ridged ever so slightly. “I do assume that’s what you were planning?” After receiving a silent nod to the affirmative, he went on, “Well then, perhaps we can resume this conversation tonight. In my quarters. There is much I would like to explore on the subject.“ He leaned much closer, widening his eyes in that brief and particular way, “Perhaps we can play together.”  
  
Garak didn’t need to use his extra senses to catch the hitch in breath or the scent of arousal.  
  
He straightened out and added enigmatically, “Hide and seek, I mean.”  
  
 *****  
  
Julian paced in his own quarters. Garak hadn’t given him a time, and Julian wasn’t so stupid as to think it had merely slipped the Cardassian’s mind. So did he rush over now that he was done with his shift? He could just see Garak preening at his impatience.  
  
Perhaps he should wait several hours and let the bastard stew.  
  
Only Garak would know he had done it deliberately and the preening would be even worse.  
  
Well, his tailor thought he was young and impetuous, why not act the part? It certainly was how he was feeling at the moment. After a quick - but very thorough - shower, Julian paused for some serious consideration of his wardrobe.  
  
If tonight were what he hoped it was, it wouldn’t do to offend his erstwhile host with his choice of clothing. He paused. If he were being honest, he wanted Garak to know that he had taken the time to consider what to wear and, if he were being really honest, he wanted to be admired a bit.  
  
Most of the clothes in his closet were replicated, and he very rarely wore anything other than his uniform around the station. The few times Garak has seen these, they had met with very creative quips of Bashir’s medical profession not being limited by his colorblindness, or delicate inquiries about the lights apparently not functioning in his quarters. No, none of those would do for this evening.  
  
Hidden in the back was a set of items that he had purchased years ago on Risa at the request of his then companion - not that Garak needed to know that. A simple wrap around tunic. The color was a deep rich green and the cloth was light and supple. The sleeves were long, but flowed loosely around his wrists. It had blue trim, so dark it was almost black, that wound around the edge of the neck and down across the front to meet with the hidden closure at his side. He lay the top on the bed and reached for a pair of matching pants, made of the same flowing cloth as the tunic, only they were a deep charcoal grey.  
  
Tossing back in his memory, he was certain Garak had never seen him in this outfit. Besides being designed for the warmer climate of Risa, which would be handy if Garak had his climate control on a higher setting, it also had a sensual movement and flowed teasingly over Julian’s body. It _had_ come from a planet know for its rather decadent reputation.  
  
Julian dressed carefully and observed his reflection.  
  
If he moved just so, the fabric would mould to his body revealing a lean thigh or a flat stomach. The collar gave just a hint of clavicle and ended in a conservative ‘v’ underneath the hollow of his throat. But, when he leaned over slightly, it gave a more tantalizing peek of the expanse of his chest. The green of the fabric complemented his eyes and the dark blue trim accentuated the golden skin that was courtesy of some long gone ancestor. After one last turn this way and that, he dared even the Cardassian tailor to find fault in his clothing.  
  
His heart fluttering with anticipation. He made his way to Garak’s quarters, catching a few appreciative glances from other inhabitants on the way.  
  
Yes. This would do nicely.  
  
*****  
  
Garak was pleasantly surprised when the chime of the door sounded at an appropriate time. He had wondered if the Doctor would keep him waiting on purpose.

And a small part had wondered if he would show at all.  
  
He rose from his seat on the couch and turned his back on the door. Making a show of setting the table, he called out, “Do come in.” The door wooshed open and a draft of cooler air came in along with the subtle presence of the Doctor. Garak set down the plates with a rush, turning to admonish his target for being too early.  
  
Ready to deal a clever set down, he was instead silenced by the shock of seeing the young man dressed in a positively mouth watering ensemble. Had the Doctor picked it out himself? He sincerely doubted that was possible. A surge of jealousy rolled over Garak as he allowed his eyes to take in the rare sight before proceeding.  
  
“What a lovely choice of attire! I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you look so well dressed.”  
  
He placed his hands behind his back as he took a step towards Bashir.  
  
Julian flushed a bit at the compliment. Whether he missed or ignored the tailor’s implied question, Garak couldn’t tell.  
  
Instead, Julian stepped further into the room, glancing around at the inside of Garak’s quarters.  
  
“It looks like you’ve rearranged the space?”  
  
Garak took the younger mans arm and gently guided him to the couch. The fabric of Bashir’s shirt felt quite wonderful under his hand. It was so thin he could easily feel the heat from the skin underneath.  
  
It seemed the Doctor was running a bit hotter than usual.  
  
When they reached the couch, he turned the long limbed frame towards him a bit. Those lovely eyes regarded him with expectation as Garak stepped a fraction closer. The delicious creature had leaned towards him just a bit.  Faintly mirroring the move, Garak leaned in just a bit and spoke brightly, “Do have a seat. I’ll have our meal ready shortly.”  
  
Garak smiled secretly to himself as he whisked away from Bashir, leaving him with that slightly flustered look. He did so enjoy the young Doctor’s company.  
  
For years now he’d been tempting and teasing, pushing and pulling. And always the Doctor followed his lead. Well, almost always. The Doctor surprised Garak with a fortitude of will and his own iron moral center that kept the Cardassian coming back for more.  
  
He’d been attracted to the green officer from the moment he had laid eyes upon him. His exotic coloring, the smooth skin peppered here and there with unexpected fur, the lilt of  his Terran accent evident even through the translator, and the whipcord build so different from his own stocky musculature. How delightful it had been the first time Bashir had revealed an almost Cardassian aptitude for discussion and debate of many manner of topics ranging from culture to cuisine.  
  
Oh, yes. He was extremely attracted to the young Human.  
  
His ability to defend his own position and weave between the carefully woven words of well versed subterfuge had managed to cement Garak’s budding affections. And yet, under those titillating displays of vast hidden and untapped intelligence, Bashir always kept that layer of innocence that Garak was convinced was not contrived for his benefit.  
  
It was something that would have had dire consequences if he were a citizen of Cardassia.  
  
But he was Human, and such things apparently didn‘t mean certain betrayal and death on Earth.  
  
Understanding this had allowed Garak to accept it as an endearing flaw, and as such he found it to be quite intoxicating -  and more than a little fascinating. It was easy to see the fragility of some of these delicate Humans; their exposed skin and their weak constitution when it came to protecting the State over their own inexplicable need to protect the individual.  
  
And yet, some held a staunchness of heart and a genuine righteousness of courage that he secretly envied.  
  
Once, in a haze of excruciating pain and vulnerability he had done his best to drive his friend away in words of anger and torturous hidden truths and lies. Instead of damning the Cardassian to what most would have considered his deserved fate, the Human had stood unyielding in the face of his wrath. He’d had no way of knowing the dangerous game he had played in his gamble to help Garak.  
  
Garak wondered if Bashir realized how much he had revealed of himself in his torment, or how amazed he was that Bashir had been successful in saving his life.  
  
Or finally and irrevocably stealing his heart.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian arrives in Garak's quarters. Some Cardassian style courting is very near in his future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See chapter one for notes.

Hide and Seek

Chapter Three

* * *

 

 

Julian observed Garak from his seat on the couch. He squirmed at the obvious Cardassian firmness of the cushions, but otherwise watched in fascination as Garak sauntered around the small table. The obvious care he was taking at arranging the settings just so lent some validity to Julian’s hopes for tonight’s proceedings.  
  
The dishes were beautiful, so incredibly delicate they were nearly transparent; the color of fresh cream with a tiny blush of rose pink around the edges. There were two sets of glasses, one short and one closer to an Earth champagne flute, the mouth cut down on an angle. They were no less beautiful than the dishes and Bashir eyed them with wariness. These were definitely not from any replicator, and he loathed to touch them lest a moment of clumsiness end their fragile lives.  
  
On Cardassia, a planet run by a military with little use for what Humans would consider fine arts, meals were an art form in themselves. Garak had discussed at least that much with the Doctor, more in consternation of his over exuberance at mealtime than anything else. Still, Julian knew the significance of such effort being put into the preparation of the meal the two would soon share, and Garak knew he knew. Perhaps, Garak was making sure he observed some of the care that was being taken to make this night different than their usual lunches.  
  
Bashir’s heartstrings thrummed as he settled back to watch Garak share a glimpse of something as of yet unseen. Since he was effectively being ignored, he took his time to look over the powerful form hidden by carefully sculpted civility.  
  
Garak was, as usual, clothed in an outfit with evident Cardassian style. Bold geometrical patterned blocks of muted gold accentuated the stocky build of his powerful chest and shoulders. A matching panel of the same ran down the center of his chest and the sleeves were made of it entirely. When he turned, another ‘v’ shaped panel ran from the nape of his neck to the middle of his back. The rest of the cloth was one of the heavily textured fabrics that he favored, and the rich earthen color effectively set off the muted gold. The tunic followed the form of its wearer and flared out subtly over the hips and rear. Garak’s trousers were a few shades lighter than the earthen colored fabric and made of a less textured material; as with the rest of the ensemble, they were impeccably tailored. A pair of extremely soft looking leather shoes of a rich brown finished off the outfit.  
  
Julian was not fooled by Garak’s put on air of a man reaching middle age. If anyone had ever taken the time to look over the Cardassian as much as he had, they would notice the care the man took to paint himself in such an innocent light. The broadness of the chest and the thickness of the shoulders and arms couldn’t be hidden, even by exquisite tailoring. Of course, no one else had seen the easy strength Garak had revealed during the time he hadn’t been in control of his senses due to his failing implant. There was no doubt Garak had lived a longer time than he, but the Doctor had a more than sneaking suspicion that Cardassians as a whole spent more time in their prime than Humans.  
  
Unconsciously, his lids lowered and his fingers danced on the arm of the couch as he imagined what might be hidden underneath Garak’s careful wrappings. His mind drifted to scaled skin and ridges always hidden from view. How far did the ridges go? Would the scales feel rough on his tongue, or would they be slick and silky?  
  
“Doctor?”  
  
Garak was standing over him with a smile that told Julian he’d been addressed more than once. He snapped to attention.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
Garak’s eye ridges rose as he canted his head to the other side. “I do hope I’m not distracting you, but I thought you might like to know that dinner is served.”  
  
Julian felt a blush creep over his face as he wondered what he must have looked like during his musings.  
  
“I’m terribly sorry, I was just thinking about…work.”   
  
“Ah yes. I suppose you often find your mind wandering to work.” Garak gave him a smile full of teeth and on a brief widening of his eyes finished, “I certainly know I do.”  
  
“I-” Julian was interrupted as Garak moved to the table and pulled back a chair with a flourish. Just as well, because he wasn’t sure what he had been going to say. He moved to the proffered chair and allowed Garak to slide it underneath him as he sat.  
  
Large hands landed gently on his shoulders as the Cardassian leaned close to his ear.  
  
“This dish is something I have been working on for quite a while. I believe I have finally gotten the recipe just right. It’s based off of that delightful culinary surprise you called ‘curry’ but with a few altered ingredients.” Garak’s thumbs drifted down along the edges of Julian’s shoulder blades, rubbing against the edge of bone with a gentle pressure. “I’d like to think it shows how compatible the most unexpected ingredients can be when combined with care.” The thumbs traveled back up before the hands left Bashir’s shoulders.  
  
The simple caress had sent a shiver along his spine.  
  
He watched Garak with renewed interest as he crossed to his own seat. Once again, he was being teased and tugged at the Cardassian’s own pace. For a moment, Julian considered flipping the table out from in front of them and stripping down until he was nude, just to see what Garak would do. However, when his eyes flickered to his plate, he found that Garak could very well have been talking about the meal after all.  
  
Steam rose from the green tinted and very thinly sliced zabu meat that was settled over a delicate light pink sauce. The sauce was faintly similar in scent to curry, with speckles of spices evident in the velvety texture. Underneath the colorful meat and sauce was the unmistakable sight of whole long grain rice. Each grain was slightly different in size and color, the delicate shape of the long grains still intact after being cooked. No replicator yet had been able to capture one of Julian’s most missed earth dishes.  
  
Was it-? No, it couldn’t be.  
  
Julian grasped his fork and gently fished a small bite out of the lovely dish.  
  
It was.  
  
Bashir’s eyes widened. He couldn’t repress his excitement as he looked across the table to Garak, who was regarding him with an innocent expression.  
  
“Where did you get rice? I haven’t had real rice since I left the academy on Earth!”  
  
“Really Doctor? I had no idea. What a wonderful turn of events!”  
  
Garak pointedly picked up his own utensils and began to eat.  
  
Julian looked back at his plate reverently and, with great care, began to eat small bites.  
  
He couldn’t imagine the pleasure Garak was receiving from sharing such a specially prepared meal. Garak knew that Julian had no idea of the implications a Cardassian would place on such a personally prized item being served to them by another Cardassian. Still, for once his Doctor was taking time to savor each bite, his eyes drifting closed gently as he enjoyed the Earth grain. The obvious appreciation made the alien grain worth all the considerable trouble it had been to obtain.  
  
Garak swirled the light wine in his glass as he mused over how much he had grown to adore the unlikely Human.  
  
He allowed the Doctor a few more bites in silence.  
  
“So, I expect you agree on the successful blending of our two cultures?”  
  
Julian looked up from his dish, fixing Garak with a look of pure enjoyment.  
  
“Yes. For once, I believe I can agree that you judged the combination rather well.”  
  
“I’m quite glad to hear it,” Garak looked up from under his brow ridges and added, “my Dear.”  
  
Oh. _Oh_.  
  
That had quite a lovely effect.  
  
Julian face showed the turmoil behind his eyes as he struggled with some internal debate. Garak waited to see what surprise waited in store for him as the Doctor reached his decision.  
  
“Good…Elim.”  
  
Ah. His given name. So long unheard from friendly lips. Garak didn’t know how much he had yearned for it until now. It rolled off the Doctor’s tongue in a questioning gamble and it was easy to tell he wasn’t sure if such familiarity was to be allowed him.  
  
Garak had invited him into his quarters, had prepared their table and meal with considerable care, had even sought out a delicacy to serve him. They sparred with each other over intellectual and artistic difference, argued over extremely mundane issues, exchanged poetry, music, literature, and food - and still the Doctor doubted the right to use his given name.  
  
Really, Garak despaired over their ever getting over the gap in their cultures.  
  
And yet, he wondered if he were allowed the same right.  
  
He spoke the name with a reverence he usually only held for his beloved Cardassia.    
  
“Julian.”  
  
Garak followed no gods, but that must be what a prayer felt like in one’s mouth.  
  
The answering lowered eyes and shy smile told him he was indeed allowed.  
  
Something a bit like relief and pleasure washed over the Cardassian.  
  
He basked in the glow, letting it sink into his soul like the long absent warmth of his homeland. Uncharacteristic, but not uncomfortable, silence stretched between the pair for several minutes. Neither man seemed to want to break it, and so they enjoyed the moment together, occasionally passing weighted looks between them.  
  
Garak was mildly surprised when Julian decided to break the silence.  
  
“So, I take it you disagree with the Earth game we discussed.” He sipped at his wine in between his last careful bites of food.  
  
Julian had decided to take a Cardassian approach it seemed.  
  
“Well, I wouldn’t say I disagree with the nature of the game itself, only that younglings play.” Garak kept his voice barely condescending.  
  
“Why wouldn’t they? Are you suggesting that the game is somehow…” Julian cast about for a word, “inappropriate?” Julian made a show of how dubious he found that possibility.  
  
“Well, what do you think?”  
  
“I think that stuffy Cardassians try to put hidden meaning into the most innocuous of places.” Julian’s eyes twinkled even as he curled his lip in distaste.  
  
“Hmm.” Garak fixed him with a glare that traveled down the ridges of his nose. “I don’t suppose a Human could be expected to realize the subtext they push upon their younglings.”  
  
“Subtext!” Julian set his glass down with a thump. A very careful thump, due to the delicate stem of the flute, but a thump nonetheless. “You accuse Humans of subtext? Just because your own mind is full of more layers of deceit than a bag of onions, don’t assume all other races share you rather overly flexible view of the truth!”  
  
Garak wasn’t sure what ‘a bag of onions’ was, but he could well understand the meaning. Painting on a face of personal affront to the insult was the least he could do.  
  
“Really Julian,” a lovely flush met the name, “you Humans lie to yourselves far more than you give yourselves credit! Can you honestly say that such a game of pursuit is made for younglings? The heady thrill of the hunt is not something us ‘stuffy Cardassians’ choose to expose to impressionable minds!”  
  
The volume was reaching a very lovely crescendo now. The orchestrated fight had just enough truth to inflame a bit of real animosity.  
  
“Oh sure, Elim. Instead you whisk them off to god knows where and force feed them the love of the state!”  
  
Some barbs of truth were coming out it seemed.   
  
“That, at least, is mercifully absent of even the tiniest sexual overtones! Hide and Seek indeed, why not just take them to a brothel!”  
  
Garak didn’t have to force any false heat into the last sentence. He wasn’t the only one who was significantly roused; Julian felt a rush of real anger rising in reponse to the impassioned accusation. Julian stood, his chair scraping back across the floor.  
  
“A brothel. A _brothel?_ Just what the hell are you implying? I played Hide and Seek plenty, and I can assure you there isn’t anything even remotely sexual about the game. How dare you imply that our children are doing something so…so…offensive!”  
  
Garak mirrored his Doctor, standing with fluid dignity instead of the impetuous rush of the glowering Human.  
  
“So, you deny this game has any improprieties? Even though it is so obviously laden with sexual tension?”  
  
Garak’s tone was scathing. His ridges were slipping closer to charcoal.  
  
Julian slammed his palms on the table hard enough to jolt the delicate dishes still perched there.  
  
“I do!” he spat out with a snarl.   
  
The image of angry deep green eyes and lovely bared teeth followed Garak into the pitch black as the lights in his quarters went out.  
  
Julian let out a delightful sound of surprise as he was plunged into complete darkness.  
  
Garak stared into the dark, an unmistakable predatory smile on his face - at least it would be if anyone could see it - as he allowed himself a long hiss of air. The taste of Julian lingered on his tongue.  
  
“Well Julian, perhaps we can test it for ourselves.” He moved silently, creeping close enough to whisper near Julian’s ear. He received a lovely gasp of fear as his next words were delivered with all the considerable sensuality he could muster.  
  
“Ready or not, here I come.”  



	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian realizes hide and seek isn't as innocent of a game as he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See Chapter One for notes.

Hide and Seek  
Chapter Four

* * *

  
The moment the darkness rushed in around them, Julian had nearly asked the computer to contact Ops, fearing some sort of problem with the station. God knows it wouldn’t be the first time something like this had happened. The thought was banished in a moment when a deep whisper had rushed warm air over his ear in a tone he had never heard from the Cardassian.  
  
Threatening and thrilling, it danced across his nerves heightened by the sudden vulnerability of finding himself in the pitch dark room of a predator.  
  
 _“Ready or not, here I come.”_  
  
Julian’s argument for his innocent childhood game was thoroughly lost against such a wash of overwhelming desire at those words. Alone and in the dark, with arousal and fear warring in his brain, and a wealth of sexual overtones beating against his skin, it was obvious the nature of it had changed. The game had begun anew and the roles were decided.  
  
Garak was the predator.  
  
And that made Julian the prey.  
  
In the space of a heartbeat, he decided he would make himself as worthy of being hunted as he was able. It wouldn’t do to be easy prey.  
  
Garak moved away from the Doctor, stepping near the entrance to his quarters as he began to slowly count. He wanted the Human to feel the anticipation, to allow some time to prepare himself. But not too much time.  
  
 _“One.”_  
  
 _“Two.”_  
  
 _“Three.”_  
  
Garak wasn’t really expecting Julian to be able to offer him more than a token resistance. After all these were unfamiliar quarters to the Human, and he hadn’t known the darkness was coming.  
  
 _“Four.”_  
  
 _“Five.”_  
  
Still, he seemed more than willing to play along, and Garak could draw it out a bit to let him feel the intensity of the chase. It would certainly be welcome for himself, and he believed Julian had the capacity to appreciate at least the elements of the hunt.  
  
 _“Six.”_  
  
 _“Seven.”_  
  
 _“Eight.”_  
  
It might not be the challenge that another Cardassian could present him, but - he could barely believe he was capable of the emotion - he loved Julian. It wasn’t Julian’s fault that he had no idea of the fine razor edge of danger that such situations as this could bring forth in a Cardassian.  
  
 _“Nine.”_  
  
Garak reminded himself that he must remain in tight control and not show how easy this game would be for him. After all, his quarry was only Human, and no matter how clever and how intelligent, he could be no match for the keen instincts of a Cardassian. He also needed to be careful not to lose himself and possibly truly frighten or injure Julian.  
  
 _“Ten.”_  
  
Garak stopped counting and turned to the room. He didn’t bother to announce the words to begin the game again; they were still there, hanging in the air.  
  
Silently, he tasted the air to find the trail the lovely Doctor would be leaving for him.  
  
And then Garak smiled with absolute delight.  
  
Oh _Julian_! His clever, beautiful, talented, and always surprising Julian!  
  
There were half a dozen places marked with his enticing scent in the scant moments Garak had spent counting. Even though his hearing wasn’t quite as good as a Human, it should have been impossible for him to move through the apartment so swiftly without making some sort of noise.  
  
Garak felt something dark and luscious uncoil in his chest as he hissed audibly. Time to start eliminating some of the possibilities the Doctor had left him with.  
  
While Garak was counting, Julian was using every ounce of his extra abilities as he moved around the unfamiliar room. Thankfully he had seen the layout when he had entered, if not for his enhanced memory he would be completely helpless. Even with it, he had been hard pressed to keep calm instead of stumbling around knocking into everything. His breathing was accelerated, his heart was pounding, and he knew with each beat his location was being broadcast with or without his will.  
  
He had to pull the map up of the quarters in his mind, allowing it to be seen without the use of his eyes. He was here, at the end of the table, beyond was the couch. There were passages to either side of it and beyond lay the rest of the main room. A door to the left would lead to the bedroom and must be avoided at all costs. At least for now. A door to the right should lead to the bathroom, far to small to be of use. Past that was a wall with a desk and terminal. An actual bookshelf would rest along the back wall, with just enough space to slip between it and the now blacked out porthole.  
  
Julian moved, his mind keeping track of his position with each careful step. He kept his hands out, making certain he was where his mind was telling him he should be. His fingers brushed across a plush blanket as he skirted around the front side of one of a pair of leather chairs situated perfectly to look out at starlight. The blanket hadn’t been visible, but it made perfect sense that Garak would have one at easy reach in his quarters, giving his dislike of the cold. The fabric was soft and thick; as his fingers sank into its deep piles an idea formed.  
  
He swept it up and swiftly moved around the main room rubbing his body against a wall here, the back of the chair there, in the nook between a bookshelf and wall. He only held the blanket open enough to ensure some of his scent was deposited with each careful brush against a surface. With the pheromones he was undoubtedly pumping out, even the slight touch would leave plenty there for the Cardassian to find. Using his enhanced brain for each placement, he didn’t think about giving away his secret as he moved in the complete dark. He only thought about showing himself as worthy prey. As a worthy lover. As a worthy potential mate.  
  
As Garak stopped counting, Julian wrapped the blanket around himself as tightly and completely as he could. He hoped it would mask his true location as he froze in place, not daring to move, barely daring to breathe. Even though the room was pitch black, he closed his eyes, trying to focus all his attention on his hearing.  
  
It was getting so hot under the blanket. The room was already warmer than he was used to and he could feel a bead of sweat trickle down his back. Garak hissed and he felt his heart stutter and begin to beat even quicker.  
  
 _Focus. Focus, Julian. Calm. You need to be calm._  
  
The hiss had at least let him know where the Cardassian was in the room, and Julian knew he was sure to move in the direction of his scent. If he waited a few seconds, he should be able to move back around to the front of the couch.  
  
Perhaps he could leave another marker there if he were quick.  
  
He tapped into his augmented brain, needed every bit of his special abilities to combat the hard won skills of his hunter. His brain clipped along, carefully weighing his options as it presented him with the best probable course of action.  
  
Garak moved without sound, slipping to each spot marked in the room. He was careful to not to hiss as he pulled air in over his tongue. It wouldn’t do to give away his advantage. He smiled as each new taste provided yet another place that had been deliberately scented. A challenge was a wonderful thing.  
  
No sooner than he swept past a marker, another formed right next to it. As he shifted in the dark, a spot already examined was scented anew. With each evasion Garak grew more and more heated; his desire to capture, to mark, to subdue was surging. He’d been concerned that he would need to make his location known so that Julian would be able to evade him for a least a few minutes.  
  
How long had he been circling in the dark, silent and seeking? Each minute sharpening his yearning, weakening his control.  
  
The game went on.  
  
His prey continued to elude him.  
  
When a new mark appeared right in front of Garak, he considered that maybe he needn't reign himself in. He growled as he launched himself forward.  
  
His hands closed on empty air and his censure dissolved.  
  
Whipping back to the room filled with the taste of his prize, Garak found the game was dancing more nimbly along the knife edge than he had ever dared to hope. He hissed on an exhale, putting all his displeasure at being avoided in the threat. He hissed on an inhale, broadcasting his position and reveling in the new tang of excitement that greeted his tongue.  
  
Julian felt the shift of intent. He dared not approach so close to Garak again, unless he was ready to admit defeat. Sweat was sticking his tunic to his chest, and if he relinquished the blanket he would be found in an instant. Where to go? What to do next? His brain, enhanced or no, was struggling under the cocktail of chemicals churning in his bloodstream.  
  
A misstep.  
  
His hip bumped into the table, just barely, but enough that a gentle clink of dishes echoed in the room. Julian just barely cleared the other corner when a loud thump announced Garak’s presence.  
  
Julian’s eyes widened in the dark as he realized Garak had actually leapt over the couch.  
  
He clutched his blanket as a long hiss filled his ears. Chills ran over his arms as he skittered backwards to thump against the wall.  
  
 _“Shu-lian.”_  
  
It was foreign, the syllables stretched out over bared teeth and tested patience. Hearing his name spoken with full Cardassian inflection was a bit of a fright. He failed to hide his hitched breathing as the voice turned towards his location. He was spotted, there was nowhere to go.  
  
“If you can make it to the door, you win _Shu-lian_.”  
  
Cajoling and dripping with fake innocence, the tone pushed the Human into full fight or flight response. On a last desperate bid, he dipped into the bathroom.  
  
Garak stalked him slowly. He let his footfalls be heard, increasing the tension, prolonging the inevitable. He slinked towards the retreat of his beautiful companion.

There was nowhere to run now. The spice of arousal and the tang of fear led him as well as any light could. He laughed and hissed as he moved through the open door of the bathroom, to the far corner where the trail ended. He paused a moment to bathe in his triumph, basking in the cloud of fragrance. It seemed his target had moved to cower in the corner. A growl escaped his throat as he reveled in the gesture of defeat. He crouched down as his hands shot forward, ready to claim his reward. Supple and sweat damp cloth clung to his fingers.  
  
But it was only cloth. An empty tunic and trousers, heavily scented from their recent contact with the Human's skin.  
  
Garak roared in anger as Julian dashed past him. His blanket, and last shield to the Cardassian’s senses, was ripped from his fingers as the stronger grip found purchase on Julian’s last bid for escape. Naked now, except for his underwear, he pushed his trembling legs towards the door, arms outstretched searching in the dark.  
  
He almost made it.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caught and helpless, Julian finds himself in the hands of an extremely aroused Cardassian tailor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the beginning of the smexy NC-17 stuff. Hope you enjoy it! Other notes at the beginning of Chapter One.

Hide and Seek  
Chapter Five

* * *

  
  
Julian, with his fingers mere inches from the surface of the closed door, was caught by the solid mass of an incensed Cardassian. The sheer force of the momentum carried the pair across the room, bodily checking Julian against the farther wall. The impact pushed the air from his lungs with a huff as he found himself grappling with formidable strength. It was a lost cause. Even being enhanced had little effect against such impenetrable force; he might as well try to move the wall at his back. Still, he struggled and writhed, so far lost in the nature of the game that he didn‘t want to give in quietly even now that he was caught. Not that he‘d truly held any hope of escape, and neither did he wish for it now.  
  
His effort only inflamed Garak further; what small bit of wiggle room left was effectively erased as Garak wedged his thigh between the slighter man’s legs and pressed forward. The shift forced Julian further up the wall, leaving him unbalanced on the tips of his toes. His sweat streaked body was flattened between the wall and the expanse of the Cardassian’s chest. In his unclothed state, every press and shift scraped upon unguarded skin, causing his nipples to pebble and his trapped member to jump and leak.  
  
Julian’s lithe and willowy body was given no quarter as he was roughly pinioned by Garak’s sinuous and solid form. The Human’s fingers had sunk deep into the thick brocade of the Cardassian styled tunic, and he clutched at it like a lifeline. At least until grey hands grasped each wrist and wrenched them away to be stretched above his head. Hung at such an awkward angle, Julian was no longer able to offer more than slight wriggles, and those did nothing but stimulate him further. They certainly had no hope of moving the implacable wall of solid muscle before him.  
  
Helpless and in complete darkness, Julian began to be aware of several things: First, he couldn’t remember ever being as aroused as he was currently. Second, he was a little surprised by his own reaction at finding himself at the mercy of a stronger lover. And third, Garak had become completely still and was making a very strange noise.  
  
The sound was a bit like the hissing from earlier, only it was much quieter and accompanied by a deep vibrating rumble coming somewhere from the region of his throat. It changed timbre slightly depending on whether Garak was inhaling or exhaling, but neither the hissing or the vibration stopped with the shift of airflow. It was set to a rhythm Julian might associate with a human trying to use controlled breathing to calm themselves. Whether that was what Garak was doing, he couldn’t guess; one reason was his limited knowledge on Cardassian physiology, the other was the fact that he couldn’t _see_ anything. Intent on the sound, Julian willed his body to stillness as he tried to bring his thought back into some semblance of order.  
  
If Garak was trying to calm himself, Julian knew he shouldn’t do anything more to rouse him further. His own human heart was still thumping hard with exertion and excitement in his chest; he knew Garak had been effected just as much, if not more. While Julian was sometime prone to outbursts, such a thing in the Cardassian was rare near to the point of nonexistence. It was already painfully clear that, if he so desired, Garak could overpower him without much effort. Even if Julian found the idea exciting, there was no denying the precarious position he could find himself in if Garak used his strength unchecked.  No matter the suprising desire he was discovering at the thought of being physically overpowered, he’d no wish to be truly injured. If he needed to exert some self control, he would. Biting his lips and taking deep breaths, albeit shaky ones, he managed to mirror Garak’s stillness. For several moments, neither moved.  
  
Julian was wondering if it would be wise to speak when a ridged nose nudged gently in the hollow of his throat; it was followed by a long lap of an alien tongue, slightly rougher and definitely longer than his Human counterpart. He couldn't stifle the small moan that escaped at the touch. The textured tongue dipped into the hollow and traveled up the center of his throat until it flicked away from the underside of his chin. The touch was exquisitely gentle, made even more so by the amount of roughness that had preceded the action. A shivering little breath escaped Julian as the movement was repeated.  
  
Garak lapped at as much of his neck he could reach, the taste of the Human’s sweat foreign and delicious. If the little tremors and gasps that met each swipe were any indication, the Human's neck was also extremely sensitive. Garak lessened some of the pressure that had Julian pinned, and the slim frame slid down the wall until his feet were once more flat on the floor. Now that he had been lowered, the entire expanse of the delicate neck was in his reach. He gently lathed it and tried to fight the desire to sink his teeth into the vulnerable expanse.  
  
In such proximity Garak was awash in the tide of chemicals that were being pumped out by the quick heartbeats. The pheromones may be foreign, and some completely unique to this particular Human, but they were most assuredly affecting him. On a never ending stream of air, they were raising their own counterparts in his alien brain. With each encouraging noise and shudder to his attentions, Garak found the tenuous control he had found was slipping. Even with all the experience and training from his past, he wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to stop once he began in earnest. If his erstwhile friend wasn’t truly ready for this step, he needed to know now.  
  
 _“Shu-lian…”_  
  
That odd pronouncement of his name sent shivers down Julian’s spine as it was whispered into the crook of his neck, right against the life flow of blood singing just beneath the surface. The tone spoke to him deeper than just his name on soft breath; it was exotic and questioning, seductive and pleading, tempting and _asking_. Julian could feel it, could sense the uncertainty there, the restraint forced into place until full permission was granted. His name told him he could stop this, that _here_ was the line from which he could step back. That _here_ was the place where he could step forward.  
  
And if he stepped forward, the way back would be barred forever.  
  
Julian gently tugged at the hands pinning his arms above his head. Their release from the living bonds was immediate. Julian felt the movement being misinterpreted, felt Garak beginning to move away, heard the strange hissing and rumbling stop. The thought crossed Julian’s mind that how in the world was _he_ supposed to be the idiot.  
  
His hands found a very solid grip in the brocade of Garak’s tunic once again as he jerked the Cardassian forward. Julian moved his mouth next to Garak’s ridged ear even as he heard the sounds of Garak’s hands hitting the wall on either side of his head for support. He pressed his unadorned face to the cheek of his decorated companion. For the moment, he tried to ignore the delicious differences in texture, the way those ridges were completely different that he had imagined them. Harder and yet softer, like rigid cartilage wrapped in a micro-thin layer of soft leather. They were cool on his skin and he wondered if they had changed color from their normal soft grey. He allowed himself a passing glide of lips over the exotic and tempting scales as he followed them down before returning up their slope to the ear. He let his lips rest right on the shell of it and whispered out his own message, punctuating his last sentence with a low growl.  
  
“Elim, if you don’t finish what you started. _I’ll fucking kill you_.”  
  
Garak gasped at the foul language, and Julian wondered at what Cardassian word had taken its place. Such thoughts were instantly banished as the doctor soon realized exactly how much control his partner had been exerting.  
  
Garak’s head snapped forward and lodged in the crook of Julian’s exposed neck. Without preamble, teeth sank into the sensitive skin with enough strength to send a gasp of pain bursting from his lips. Right behind the teeth, a tongue lathed the tender skin before another bite further down on his shoulder. Julian faintly registered that those mysterious noises were back as his neck was devoured.  
  
A path was blazed with scraping teeth and soothing swipes of tongue even as Julian found himself being crushed against Garak’s chest in vise like grip. His hands were pinned between their bodies and his neck was left vulnerable to the Cardassian’s none to gentle ministrations. Each scrape of teeth sent pain washing along Julian’s skin, but it also over sensitized the abused flesh, making the roughness of the soothing tongue shoot shivers of pleasure all the more potent because of the pain. Locked in a grip he could not break, even if he wanted to, the Human had no choice but to experience each new sensation.  
  
He gasped and quivered, his legs losing strength as Garak moved down the curve of his clavicle. Teeth nipped more gently here, careful not to press too hard and cause real pain. Julian’s head lolled to the side as he cried out at the electric pulses traveling to his groin on each nip. He thrust his hips, seeking more contact, more friction to the fire there. Words failed him as he whispered out the only thing that skirted along his consciousness.  
  
“Elim…Elim…”  
  
The sound of his name on Julian’s lips sent Garak searching for more sensitive areas as he shifted without warning, pushing Julian back into the wall with a firm grip on his hips. So fragile, the bone so evident beneath the thin protection of the skin without any ridges or scales to shield it further. Julian’s body was a bit like himself, far to open and unguarded against those that might do it harm. It was also just as responsive, seeming unable to hide the reactions brought out with each touch. He scraped his teeth over the ribcage, causing Julian to cry out and jerk forward. His hands clutched at Garak’s back while he bit and licked his way down the surprisingly soft skin.    
  
Before this encounter, Garak had done some preliminary reconnaissance on the anatomy of Human males. He never liked to enter into a new situation at a disadvantage. To his Cardassian values, the openness of Human sexual practices and customs was baffling. Still, he had restrained himself to the most basic knowledge, surprised to find he wanted to do his own hands on research since he was going to be presented with such a willing specimen. So after making sure their anatomy was at least compatible, if quite different in some ways, he had decided on a learn-as-you-go approach.  
  
When he reached the tight shorts protecting the exposed genitalia of his alien mate, he smiled a bit at the novelty of such vulnerable reproductive organs. But now was not the time for musing on evolutionary differences, not when right before him was a scent so full of brazen sexuality. Julian’s arousal was evident as Garak’s chin brushed molten hardness on his quest to find the fount that was beckoning him to bury his face in its cloud and taste. He sank his nose in the soft curls that had escaped from the lowered band of the Human’s underwear and gave into the temptation wholeheartedly as he breathed in deep, hissing loudly. It was sex and heat and longing, arousal and desire, it was foreign and familiar and oh so tempting. And it was uniquely Julian.  
  
Shock made Julian's legs go rigid, and then quiver dangerously as Garak dissolved into a hissing beast, rubbing his face wantonly against the hardness of Julian’s trapped erection and the soft curls nestled above his pubic bone. His brain stuttered over the wild display; animalistic, frenzied, rough, and unexpected. His useless legs were thrown unceremoniously over broad shoulders by strong, scaled hands as he found himself once again pushed against the wall. He was held there, all his weight resting on Garak’s shoulders as the Cardassian hissed and writhed against his groin.  
  
He hadn’t expected that. Some part of him thought he should be embarrassed or perhaps slightly scandalized. Perhaps he would be if he weren’t so _turned on_. That just his proximity could erode the careful veneer the Cardassian wore filled him with an abstract sense of pride and confidence. In spite of all the shortcomings he had, Garak was on his knees before him, soaking up whatever he desired. And there was no doubt Julian was his desire at this moment. The rush of exultation at this realization quickened the pulse of his cock. His eyelids fluttered shut as he sank his fingers into jet black hair and tugged. Desperately, he gasped out his warning.  
  
“Wait! Elim… _oh god. Elim_!”  
  
Instead of stopping the attack, Julian’s begging only incited more frenzied caresses as open mouthed nips to his trapped cock accompanied the rubbing. Unable to control his reaction to the new stimuli, Julian came inside his black shorts. Over and over he convulsed in a powerful climax, a rough Cardassian mouth lathing his sensitive glans through the cloth and sucking at the moisture gathered there.  
  
Garak marveled at the cries of loud abandon Julian made as he reached his completion. His own fervent desire abated to a tolerable level as the heady mix of Julian’s semen, sucked through the snug and now wet fabric, danced along his tongue. The scent of  him lost its fevered pitch, allowing Garak to blink away some of the desire addled haze in his vision. He growled lightly at the little cries that met his nips of the softening member, enjoying the way Julian’s clenched muscles and gripping hands in his hair began to slowly liquefy. The boneless way he slumped forward made it easy to shift the long legged body over his shoulder.  
  
Garak stood, stripping the soiled cloth from Julian’s form and tossing it aside as carried his prize to the bedroom.  
  



	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian is allowed a close up look at Cardassian anatomy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See notes at the beginning of Chapter One.

Hide and Seek

Chapter Six

* * *

 

 

Placing a knee on the bed and shifting forward, Garak gently lowered Julian from the perch on his shoulder. The careful and slow movement was not for lack of the Cardassian’s urgency, but due to the firmness of the mattress. Julian was more languid that Garak had ever experienced him, and he didn’t wish to jar him from this newly discovered post orgasmic state. He had meant to deposit his sated lover and step back to disrobe, but a hand shot up and grasped at him before he could move away.  
  
“Garak… _Elim_ , I want to see.”  
  
Spoken softly, it was almost a plea.  
  
The hand had a gentle grip, put there in trust that strength would not tug away from its grasp. A tenderness skittered across the failing plated armor of Garak’s heart; that he should be so trusted was both heady and frightening. The combination caused a ripple to slither down his scales. He cocked his head, considering.  
  
“Computer, lights on low.”  
  
While low lights for a Cardassian were indeed not much luminescence, anything would have caused Julian to blink after such darkness. As his eyes adjusted from the pitch black to the faint glow, he found the setting allowed him to see quite well. Julian moistened his lips unconsciously, looking up to his lover. Garak’s face was over his, arms braced on either side of his shoulders. The bright blue eyes were intense, staring down at him from a head held at a rather reptilian angle, focused intently on his mouth. Julian parted his lips, letting warm air escape to puff across Garak’s face and watched the ornate nostrils flare subtly.  
  
It occurred to Julian that they still hadn’t kissed. An oversight he was determined to correct right away. But how to go about it? Raising up from his position felt a little like defeat, and - even if he had lost their rather sinful game of hide and seek - he wasn’t ready to just roll over and give up, so to speak.  
  
He risked sliding his free hand up the sleeve of his completely clothed companion, inching it along a slow path and stopping just at the edge of charcoal colored ridges. Ever so softly, he let his fingers brush right across the peak of the first scale free of the cloth. This time he was awarded with a brief flicker of eyelids, so faint it could almost be missed. Julian stroked the scale again, making sure to lower his eyes to linger on an unsmiling grey mouth before slowly licking across his own top lip. Eyes widened, nostrils flared, and teeth flashed before Garak’s heavy weight fell atop him.  
  
Grey lips, cool and cunning, met warm and pliant ones in a near violent kiss. Garak’s rougher tongue darted into Julian’s welcoming mouth, circling and teasing its softer and shorter mate. He sucked in the full bottom lip, reveling at the softness, at the warmth. The Cardassian nipped at it roughly, a eye ridge arching at the answering moan. Warm and full lips pulled at his own, coaxing him to allow Julian his own exploration. The velvet texture of the Human’s tongue surprised him, slipping in to tease at the roof of his mouth. He allowed this for a few moments before taking back control and deepening the kiss. He caught the velvet tongue, sucking on it gently before biting. Underneath him, Julian became a wild thing, wrapping him up in those long legs, scraping and squeezing his swollen and sensitized ridges, and overall rousing the Cardassian to an unexpected pitch.  
  
Julian had done quite a lot of kissing in his life, but he’d never been kissed like this, so very _thoroughly_. Garak’s weight was resting on him; that deep rumbling noise he was making sank into his chest through the layers of fabric and flesh. The rough kiss excited him and he scrabbled underneath Garak, sliding fingers into hair, grasping at scaled shoulders, wrapping his legs around thick thighs, and doing his damndest to keep the other man kissing him. Only the sudden firmness joining his own recovering erection at the juncture of his thighs distracted him.  
  
The change was accompanied by a hiss as Garak snatched his head back, panting between clenched teeth. He had pushed himself up, pulling that very interesting new development away from Julian’s body, and Julian found he didn’t like that one bit. Abandoning his grip of ridges and a handful of luxurious black mane, he wrapped his legs firmly around a thick waist and slid his hands down to the new change in his lover’s anatomy.  
  
Garak hissed and tried to jerk away, rather violently Julian thought, but Julian balled a fist into his tunic and locked his legs, keeping the heavier man off balance and pulling him back down. He gently palmed the bulge in Garak’s trousers. Even through the clothes, he could tell it wasn’t anything like his own physiology.  
  
As a Cardassian’s potential partner, Julian knew very little about their sexual practices or customs. As a doctor, he was also incredibly limited on knowledge of their reproductive systems. His scans of Garak hadn’t really been detailed in that department, mostly focusing on the area of his brain and limbic system. He had even snuck a look or two at the scans in private, but only the most basic information had been gathered. He did know that Cardassian’s kept their genitals tucked away when they weren’t in use - quite a wise evolutionary feature in his opinion - but he had no way of knowing what constituted the terms of said use.  
  
With the previous activity of the evening, and Garak’s obvious infatuation with his pubic region, it seemed fairly certain that being sexually aroused did not necessarily mean an exposed erection. Testing the waters, he rubbed at the alien erection more firmly, earning a growl and a jerk. He halted, looking up to make sure he hadn’t done any damage.  
  
If he thought the gaze he’d been afforded before was intense, he had no way of describing the one now.  
  
Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but ‘murderous’ didn’t seem to have much place in a bedroom.  
  
Julian snatched his hand away.  
  
The Human idiom ‘playing with fire’ flashed unbidden across Garak’s brain. It seemed he had reached the limit of containing himself. He had been highly agitated for some time now, and the lovely display of willingness from Julian had finally coaxed him partway from his sheath. That in and of itself was quite a feat, not that he would let his Doctor know.  
  
Cardassians had wonderful control over their lower halves, unlike many species, and they could keep their vulnerable members tucked away until they were ready to use them. Only sometimes, in certain situations that involved long stretches of celibacy or extremely arousing bedfellows - or both in this case - did the stalwart gates of the genital slit part without being expressly bidden. All things considered, he supposed he had done rather well, but still, the unbidden emergence was a bit of an affront to his need for control of himself at all times. He knew that control was threatening to unravel. He struggled, clamping down on the fraying edges of it with a vengeance.  
  
Only when he looked down into Julian’s face and saw the uncertainty there did he realize that perhaps his need for control was causing some unintended distress. The hands that had been snatched away from his embarrassing situation were hovering protectively over the location of the Human’s heart. The eyes were guarded, shades of doubt rolling in their depths.  
  
Garak cringed inwardly, reminding himself once more that Julian was Human, not Cardassian. While the caress of one of his own kind would have been to draw attention to his lack of control, thereby gaining the upper hand and pointing out his failure to keep his composure, he doubted Julian had such a vindictive bone in his body. His hands hadn’t been attempting to demean or humiliate; they were most probably curious, exploring, and seeking to return some of the pleasure he had received.  
  
Garak hated himself for allowing that look on his lovely Julian’s face. He had to rectify the situation and reassure him that everything was alright. Garak rocked back to rest on his heels.  
  
“My Dear, I believe I may be overdressed.”  
  
His voice was far more sharp than he intended, but it had the desired effect; doubt fled and eager hands rushed to assist him with the divesting of his clothes.  
  
It was a stumbling, frenzied dance, much different that the usual care he took when disrobing. He had barely unclasped his tunic before shockingly warm hands were sliding under and pushing up the thick thermal shirt that he always wore as his first layer of clothes. Julian’s frantic pulling on the thing forced him to lean forward with his arms over his head, lest it be torn. Usually, such fumbling urgency would bring a patronizing smile to Garak’s face, but he found that he didn’t much care for finesse at the moment. When the thermal shirt was ripped free and tossed aside, he stood. In a single movement he pushed down his trousers, thermal leggings, and underwear before toeing off his shoes and returning to kneel between spread thighs.  
  
Looking down at Julian’s glory beneath him, Garak found the control he had fought for. It came unbidden, awash on a tide of wonderment and gratefulness. Those feelings were almost as alien to him as the creature lying in his bed. The shock of them rooted him in place and granted him a moments respite from his loss of control. It certainly wasn’t for lack of desire, but more for the completely surreal scene he was being graced with.  
  
Beneath him, fragile and exposed, yet remaining open and unguarded, lie a gift that he in no way deserved. His past held deeds deep and dark enough to haunt him in times of weakness. All of it had been for Cardassia, that shining and pure ideal he still kept buried in his soul. But still, even light from an ideal illuminates darkness - and casts shadows when its reach is interrupted. He hated to admit there were corners where even the light of Cardassia failed to reach. Those creeping and crawling things, skirting along the edges of light, just out of reach; things which asked for courage to step into the light, to be judged, held to account and atoned for. Things that whispered of a chance for absolution, and in the same breath whispering there was never a hope for such, and the wanting of it was a weakness.  
  
Even if he had never fallen out of favor, he would still be stained, warped and marred, twisted deep down where light could never reach. But here beneath him lie a light brighter than anything he had dared to hope for, much less be allowed to bathe in.  
  
This kind of love shouldn‘t be possible for someone such as he. Of course, he loved Cardassia, but that was different. He had done things for her that had stained him in order to keep her pure. He had never expected her embrace, never needed her to smile on him and approve and forgive him. He had never dared to dream of her granting him absolution; he only wanted recognition of his efforts, only wanted appreciation. Even if one died for her, she would remain cool and aloof. After all, that only meant one was doing what was expected of them. Why should she weep and mourn for what was her due? Cool and aloof she would always be, but Garak also loved that about her.  
  
But the kind of love he had for Julian was something he had never expected to feel again; he was an exile, cast out and unwanted by his own. Who would look at  him with longing and desire? Who would yearn for his company, to sit at his table and converse with him? Who would want to take him to bed now that there was nothing to be gained from the act? Yet in his exile, he had found a gift that would never have been possible to exist so unsullied on Cardassia.  
  
He allowed himself a moment of pure, unadulterated adoration as he looked over the golden form stretched out before him. Absent of ridges, but in no way barren, the younger man was an unexplored plane of existence. He longed to trace each smooth expanse, to trickle his fingers along the fine pelt covering him, to bury his face in the areas that thickened enticingly to capture his scent, to test the sensitivity of areas where bone scraped unbelievably close to the surface. He had no doubt that his Hebitian ancestors would have fought to worship at the feet of this pure and beautiful alien; certainly paintings and sculptures and song would have risen in his wake.  
  
Well, his ancestors were not here now, and in their relentless pursuit of beauty they had led Cardassian to folly…But as Garak gazed down on Julian, his attention rapt with the smooth and sloping planes of the Terran’s body, he wondered if some tiny spark of them had survived. He itched to build some sort of monument of Julian, a testament to the beauty of him that could be adored and revered for lifetimes to come. He was gratified to see some of his own adoration mirrored in the eyes of the man below him.  
  
Instead of Julian grasping and pulling at him, as Garak had expected him to do once he was unclothed, the Human reached up with tentative, shaking hands. His face held unabashed wonder, and it spread out like a balm over Garak’s soul. Each reservations he held was subdued under the reverent touches that skirted along his exposed ridges and scales. In a way, Garak had removed some of his armor when his clothing was discarded. It was part of his efforts to pad and obscure his true form, both physically and mentally. Without it, some glaring differences between what he projected and what was real were revealed to the world. Of course, in this moment that only consisted of Julian, and he certainly wasn’t turning away from what he saw.  
  
Julian had longed to be able to look at Garak this closely, and now that he could, it was nearly overwhelming. He was beautiful, magnificent, and very, _very_ different. Even in the dim light shadows and highlights rolled across the powerful form of his Cardassian. Julian had expected the monochromatic spectrum of silver, white, grey, and charcoal, but flashes of minute blue and violet peeked out here and there. Garak’s chest rose and fell, shifting the light across his body. Hard edges and smooth planes wove together effortlessly to create a topography that begged to be charted. Garak’s shimmering mass brought back memories of a giant storm cloud Julian once had carelessly been caught in on Earth when he was younger. It had been both beautiful and terrifying; the thunder sinking into his flesh, the charged lightning flashing with very real threat of death, the unexpected downpour soaking him to the bone. Yes indeed, quite reminiscent to his present companion. Underneath his seeking fingers scales rippled gently, shifting over each other in a perfect dance.  
  
Julian knew that Garak hated the cold, but now that he was naked, he saw another reason for the Cardassian to always wear long sleeves. Where Humans had only a rather thin layer of skin to protect the hard edges of bone from wrist to elbow, Garak had ridges and scales. Letting his fingers slide along in exploration, the scales shifted, moving fluidly under Julian’s hands. The ridge ran from the protruding bone of the wrist and ended a few inches above the elbow. This particular one was more flat, especially over the elbow, less ornamental than the ones on either side of the neck. The scales over the elbow felt larger, flatter, as if made to work with the broad range of movement the joint produced. Here the caresses didn’t cause Garak to thrum and hiss like the neck ridges either.  
  
Julian let his fingers explore those next, feeling the way they had swollen along with the way they had darkened in color. He felt Garak’s body stiffen as his fingers traced over them, but no move was made to impede his progress. The prominent neck ridges arched down to meet the edge of what would be the clavicle on a human. From there, the collarbone was protected by a flatter ridge that curved to fade gently at the inverted spoon beneath the hollow of Garak’s throat. This spoon was turned opposite of the one on his forehead, and when he dipped his finger into the concave center the noise Garak was emitting dropped into a lower register. Julian wanted to linger there, but instead he continued down the broad expanse of the chest.  
  
There were no nipples, but another thin ridge skirted underneath the edge of the pectoral muscle setting off the rise of the muscle there. Julian let his fingers graze over the areas that almost looked like skin, but it proved to be slick and silken and scaled. They were tiny, almost microscopic scales, but scales nonetheless. The expanse of skin under his fingers mirrored the coolness he had felt from lips and hands, leading Julian to the conclusion that every inch of Garak was covered by scales either large or small.  
  
Two more sets of ridges were apparent and appeared to wrap around from Garak’s back. One angled along the edge of his ribcage, pointing down to the center of his abdomen to where a navel would be on a Human. The other set ran over the edges of his hipbones, the peaks of the ridges giving way to wider and flatter scales that protected the bones beneath. It seemed these scales were prominent on areas that needed added protection other than only the ridge. Julian could feel more ridges under the backs of his thighs where they rested on thick and muscular legs. He decided that he would have a look at those legs later; right now his attention was moving down to the region of Garak’s groin where something even more alien than scaled skin was lurking.  
  
If he needed anything more to remind him that they were indeed aliens to each other, there it sat. It was peeking from nearly black scales that lined the edges of the genital cavity.  
  
Julian swallowed audibly as he finally focused all his attention to that organ. His eyes widened and he gasped as several more inches slid out as if on cue. He risked a glance at Garak’s face and was momentarily pierced by half lidded eyes that exposed more raw emotion than Julian had ever seen there. The pupils were so dilated Julian wondered if Garak could even see him, but a tiny, tight nod encouraged him. He focused back on this new fascinating and private privilege being granted.  
  
The scales that edged the opening were nearly black, Julian suspected this was due to the same reaction that caused the shoulder ridges to darken. Instead of ridges layered and descending in neat rows like the rest of Garak‘s body, these scales protruded and receded in a complimentary pattern that mirrored the opposite side. If Garak’s member weren’t outside of their protection, they would interlock to protect the reproductive organs. With the alien appendage protruding, the edges of the scales were now covered by swollen tissue that peeked out along the edges of the slit. The purpose of the tissue appeared to be protecting the vulnerable organ from the edges of hard scales.  
  
  
The shaft, now extended to what seemed was its full length, was a deep red, almost purple. This was the first part of the Cardassian that was completely void of scales other than the inside of Garak‘s mouth. Julian suspected he would find the texture of the appendage similar to the tissue on the inside of Garak’s cheek; the fact that it glistened slightly supported that belief. The basic shape of it was different than Julian‘s own organ - more tubular with no evident glans - and it was only marginally wider at the base. It was also thicker than the average human penis, Julian thought he could just get his fingers round it. Instead of the vein that ran along the underside there was a nearly imperceptible seam, probably due to the way it was stored inside the body when the erectile tissue wasn‘t filled with blood. All these anatomical differences Julian could easily take in stride; he was no stranger to interspecies intercourse, but sudden doubt furrowed his brow as he focused on the other details of Garak’s penis.  
  
It was covered with what Julian could only describe as spurs. They were short and fat, each one coming to a sharp point and jutting up and out proudly from the shaft. There were rows and rows of them set in alternating symmetry along nearly the entire length. A quick mental count; sixteen round the girth, eight rows up the shaft…one hundred and twenty eight of them.  The head, or where the approximation of the head would be, was circled with long and thin spines that curved out and then gently back in, the ones on the tip actually kissing each other on the end of their gentle arch. There were rows of these also, set so close together that the spines overlapped and touched. The frills brought to mind images of sea anemones.    
  
No small amount of trepidation coursed through him as he stretched out his hand to touch the strange landscape.  
  
And he instantly realized how foolish he was to fear.  
  
The frills along the top teased his fingertips in a gentle tickle, moisture sticking them to his skin as he brushed through them with wonder. They clung to him, giving a tiny stretch before letting go mournfully and slowly returning to the company of their mates. A slide of a now moistened pad found the spurs to be more firm, but certainly not sharp or dangerous. He wrapped his hand around the girth, noting his grip sank into its spongy texture by at least half a centimeter before encountering a more solid core. On a downward stroke, his hand glided along with slippery natural lubrication. The spurs caressed the edge of his hand as they folded back underneath the pressure, lapping and dragging at the skin of his palm.  
  
His own cock pulsed and a tiny moan escaped his lips as he grasped at the possibilities of pleasure awaiting him.  



	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garak finds himself on the receiving end of a Human sexual practice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See chapter one for notes.

 

Hide and Seek

Chapter Seven

* * *

 

Garak felt his eyes flutter closed of their own volition as Julian caressed his exposed _esch’vra_. How many years had it been since someone had touched him so? And never had it been done with such reverence, such gentle wonder. He afforded himself a soft hiss, tasting the air. He found the taste of Julian’s arousal rising once more. Encouraged, he began to cycle the air over the _re’tan_ organs hidden under his tongue. The tang of his companion’s desire was less sharp now, having been satisfied once, but the pitch was slowly and steadily growing.  
  
Julian’s hands traveled the length of Garak’s arousal, letting the minute shifts in Garak’s humming and bearing guide him along. He tested his grip, using a force he would find almost too much, but Garak’s eye ridges tipped slightly upwards, and his hissing was interrupted by a soft breath out. Julian tightened his grip further and was awarded with a deep resonating growl. So, a grip Julian would find punishing indeed seemed to meet with approval from Garak. Using the harsh grip, he dropped his eyes back to his hand and watched the little spurs alternately fold and emerge with depending on the drag of his hand.  
  
The long frills were equally fascinating, the very tips seemed to end in tiny orbs that turned out to be little droplets of a silky, slightly viscous fluid. He sank a finger into the middle of them, rubbing along the rather blunt surface they adorned. Julian found the way they clung to whatever skin touched them terribly erotic. Holding the shaft still in his right hand, he rubbed the tip firmly with his palm; Garak stiffened over him. He let his all of his fingers fall to graze the shaft before sliding up and gently gathering as many of the little tentacle-like appendages as he could. When he began to very softly squeeze and roll them between his thumb and fingers, Garak’s hand shot out to grip his wrist with the speed of a viper.  
  
He stopped his ministrations, but didn’t let go. Tearing his attention away, he looked once more into Garak’s face. The look there could be considered pained.  
  
“Does that hurt?”  
  
Garak’s eyes darkened as he answered.  
  
“No.”  
  
Ah. So perhaps the opposite. Julian could appreciate something feeling a bit too good. Especially if one had been held on the edge of arousal for too long. He gave Garak his best wicked smile before continuing his caress on those mysterious frills once more. A sharp hiss was all the warning he received before the grip on his wrist increased exponentially. When he gave a sharp cry of pain, Garak released him instantly with a look of pure shock.  
  
Careless! He’d forgotten himself for a moment and harmed Julian. Anger coursed through him at his foolishness, but under him, Julian was giving him a sheepish smile as he rubbed his wrist. Before Garak could form a word of apology, the same hand he had gripped was sliding gently up his chest. Garak answered the light pressure, leaning back and allowing Julian to wriggle out from underneath him. Only the smoldering look in those green-gold eyes kept Garak from falling into immediate self-loathing. It seemed the Doctor wasn’t injured, and it also seemed he wanted Garak to allow him to continue. He allowed himself to be guided backwards to rest against the head of the bed. Julian stuffed pillows behind him, letting him lean back at an angle, but still be upright.  
  
Trust the lovely creature to understand he still wasn’t ready to be in such a vulnerable position as being flat on his back. At least not yet.  
  
He leaned back, watching as Julian’s lithe form slithered unexpectedly between his thighs. Warm hands slid up the ridges there, dipping into the valley where the thighs joined the abdomen before slipping up to pinch and knead his hip ridges. Garak sank his hands into the mattress, secure in the knowledge that at least here his grip wouldn’t cause anyone harm. When Julian settled in on his stomach, crossing his ankles over each other in the air like he planned to be in that position for some time, Garak found his grip was the least of his worries.  
  
The sight of Julian’s fingers playing a symphony on his hip ridges was maddening. The shock of the hot tongue lightly lapping at the tip of his _esch’vra_ had him tensing all over. But when the full lips closed over the head and Julian sucked lightly, Garak jerked violently, nearly bucking the slighter man off.  
  
Julian fixed him with a glare as he spread his long fingers over the tops of his thighs, right above where ridges started. Garak might have chuckled at the firm pressure pushing him back towards the mattress if he hadn’t been so very shocked at the implications of what Julian was intending to do.  
  
Touching was allowed, Garak was even willing to endure licking and possibly kissing - he had been granted the opportunity of nipping earlier, but then Julian hadn’t made any attempt to turn him away. But _this_! Was Julian really expecting to be allowed to take such a vulnerable area into his _mouth_? Did he believe he had earned such implicit and complete trust? Or that his position was so far above Garak’s own that he had no right to refuse? Had he no notion of the implications of what allowing such a privilege entailed?  
  
Of course he didn’t. And so Garak found himself in an odd situation: Allow Julian to do as he pleased, secure in the fact that the Human had no cultural basis on which to understand the significance? Tell him the significance? Refuse him?  
  
How did he keep forgetting that it was more than just Julian’s species that made him alien?  
  
Something must have shown on his face, no surprise really, given the shock of what Julian was proposing, because Julian’s brows rose quizzically.  
  
“Is this…bad?”  
  
The lilting voice trailed off on the question.  
  
“Not…’bad’ as you say Doctor. Just not..”  
  
It was Garak‘s turn to trail off. Not what exactly? Decent? Within the bounds of propriety? Not done unless absolute trust exists between both parties? As he looked down into the questioning eyes of his partner, he realized that he did trust Julian. Perhaps not as well as he deserved, but old habits and all that. Still, he skirted around implicating the magnitude of what he was about to allow the younger man.  
  
“It _is_ rather unusual for Cardassians. However, as long as you intend to allow me the same privilege later…”  
  
There, a hint of the truth, and the implication that he expected the same vulnerability to be granted without struggle later. The questioning brows sank down to hood the molten eyes as Julian let out a low moan before answering.  
  
“Ohh, yes. _Please_ , yes.”  
  
The fact that Julian had no idea of the liberties he was _begging_ to be taken with his body didn’t stop the effect it had on Garak. An edge of dark desire began to rise, but it wasn’t allowed to gain much momentum before he found himself on the receiving end of a very intriguing, if unorthodox, human sexual practice. A practice which soon had him capable of very little thought.  
  
Julian took his time exploring Garak with his mouth. He closed his lips firmly about the ring of frills at the tip once more, slowly and gently, making sure he wasn’t going to be abruptly forced away again. Underneath his fingers muscles clenched and roiled on heavy thighs, but the threat of being forcefully dislodged was apparently gone. He swirled his tongue, gathering  the long frills, feeling them tickle and dance as he grazed them. The secretions were quite similar to those of a Human,  if slightly less viscous and saline. There was an undercurrent of something else unidentifiable, vaguely reminisce of some type of mild spice or herb. Julian found it rather pleasant.  
  
He gathered more of the shaft in his mouth, the thickness and the barbs made this a bit challenging. He slid his right hand up to grasp the base as he began to apply a bit more pressure with his lips. Gently, he twisted his hand around the base as he pulled his mouth back up towards the tip, capturing frills between his lips when he slipped off the girth. He smiled to himself when teasing them with the tip of his tongue caused scaled legs to flinch.  
  
Releasing the frills and sliding both hands up to pinch charcoal hip ridges, Julian locked his eyes with Garak’s before placing a long lick from base to tip with the flat of his tongue.  
  
For some reason, Garak’s expression was nearly livid, as if Julian were doing something unforgivable. The edge of anger sent a shiver of delight up Julian’s spine, breaking his skin out in goose bumps along the way. Keeping his eyes locked with icy orbs that promised retribution for some unknown sin, Julian gave a smirk before reapplying his tongue in another long swipe. The barbs caressed him, slicking his lips and tongue with moisture as he began to lathe the shaft from hilt to tip, always taking care to caress the lovely frills with each pass. Garak’s hissing began to stutter after a few minutes of the treatment, tripping in and out on labored breaths, but never ceasing.  
  
Greatly reduced refractory period due to his secret modification aside, Julian was finding it extremely difficult not to squirm wantonly against the blankets. Fellatio wasn’t something that he usually enjoyed this much - not that he’d had cause to practice it in years. He had never shied away from it; he always sought to give any partner, man or woman, as much pleasure as he could. And, if he were a bit egotistical about it, he’d never had any complaints about his performance. He’d always found the act passably pleasant, if not spine tingling, but mainly because he knew he was giving his partner pleasure.  
  
But here, spread between the legs of a being that challenged him on numerous levels - sexual currently being added to that list - Julian found performing the act itself was arousing him.  
  
Maybe it was the way his tongue glided along the alien shaft, caressed and teased by the deceptive barbs there, or how he was gently tickled with each touch to those tantalizing frills, or maybe it was the taste of the natural secretions slicking his lips and glazing his tongue, or the faintly leathery yet clean scent, of which he was just now becoming aware, wafting gently off Garak’s body.  
  
Whatever the reason, Julian found himself exquisitely aroused by just exploring Garak with his mouth. For the first time in Julian‘s life, it wasn’t just about the pleasure he was giving to a partner - though that was immensely important - but instead in the sensations he was receiving with each venture. Julian wanted nothing more than to suck and taste, to lick and kiss, to nibble, to mould his lips around the alien hardness and immerse himself in the exquisite study of the art of fellatio.  
  
And so he did.  
  
Garak glared down at Julian, knowing that the Human wasn’t enjoying this in the way a Cardassian would: as capitulation to a staggering difference in status, or a just as rare show of absolute trust. His words had even implied that by doing such an act, he himself was almost supplicant. He knew, but _knowing_ and _comprehending_ such an alien concept were different things entirely. The look on Julian’s face as he began to slowly trace a path around his _esch’vra_ , looping tiny circles on each and every barb in turn certainly wasn’t helping to allay his reservations.  
  
Looking down at him, the devilish creature seemed to have forgotten that Garak was even present. He was moaning scandalously, each vocalization sending delicious vibrations through intimate tissue even as his hips undulated in a sensuous display. Well, Garak couldn’t really convince himself that Julian was any danger in this situation, and the astounding amount of pleasure he was receiving made him a bit more susceptible to the rather taboo charms of the lovely Doctor’s tongue.  
  
In the interest of cultural exchange, he dug his fingers and heels into the mattress alternately, trying to come to grips with thinking, even very briefly, that perhaps he had stumbled upon something he would concede Cardassia was truly lacking. In penance for such a thought, he forced himself to enjoy his fate.  
  
Julian was halfway through his third pass of the sweetly torturous teasing of his barbs when Garak reached the end of his tether.  
  
Julian felt the impending release as Garak stiffened abruptly, becoming absolutely still. A soft, gasping growl and a deep rumbling vibration accompanied the slow pulse of ejaculate as Garak reached orgasm. Julian pulled back, watching the substance that looked remarkably like Human ejaculate trickle down in a steady release. Just like the stately, calculated movements of its owner, it moved gracefully, sinuously tracking down over frills and barbs before pooling against the entrance of the waiting sheath.  
  
Fascinated, Julian watched raptly as the member began to soften before sliding back into the protective cavity of Garak’s body. The soft tissue that protected it from the plates there also removed the traces of his orgasm. The gathering substance tracked down curve of the vent, seeping into the blankets between spread thighs.  
  
Julian let out a sad little sound before he lowered his head to slick his tongue along the path, gathering the taste of alien seed. Here, the flavor of the unidentifiable spice or herb was stronger, reminding him of fresh lemongrass and cinnamon. Or rokassa juice. He chuckled as he gently lapped along the edge of the swollen flesh to gather what hadn’t been absorbed by the blankets.  
  
He was shocked when a frilled head bumped his tongue. He pulled back, a small smile of delight gracing his face at the thought of a refractory period that would work so well with his own.  
  
As Garak sat all the way up, the length of the shaft slid out fully.  
  
But something was different. Julian’s brow furrowed as he notice the seam that had graced the underside of the shaft was now on top, and though there were still sixteen spurs circling the girth, there were only seven up the length…one hundred and twelve altogether. Definitely down from his previous calculation of one hundred and twenty eight.  
  
He pushed up hastily, a question forming on his lips.  
  
“My god, do you have _two_ …!”  
  
He was rudely cut of by the heavy weight of an attacking Cardassian who had been far too long denied his need to conquer.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garak returns the favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been a while, but I hope you enjoy the update! More smexy times in this chapter! (There's some hovertext for when Garak talks in Kardasi, plus a more in depth explanation at the end notes.)

Hide and Seek

Chapter Eight

* * *

 

As Garak tossed his Human lover onto his back, the Human’s attention was obviously focused on the new revelation of another difference in their anatomies. Julian’s mind was still reeling with the discovery of Garak’s hemipenes. It was highly advanced and slightly modified from the typical layout of reptiles that sported it on Earth, but it was still recognizable. Julian was fascinated to see the feature had survived through the higher planes of evolution in an alien species. Even being flipped onto his back didn’t stop his mind from spinning through countless questions of scientific nature. In his excitement words spilled from his mouth.  
  
“How fascinating! Do all male Cardassian’s have hemipenes? Well, I imagine they would.  Do the reptiles on your planet still have them, too? I wonder, is it still a necessary feature for reproduction? Does it help with impregnation? Perhaps it’s due to trouble with conceiving. I would love to know where exactly you trace your origins to and if the existence of the hemipenes actually was a deciding factor in your ancestors. On Earth they exist in the class squamata, lacertillia, serpentes, and amphisbaenia being included in that of course -”  
  
Julian had continued chattering away even as Garak had crawled over him. To Garak’s consternation he had even pushed himself up on his elbows in an effort to keep the object of his fascination in view. Truly, Julian had a brilliant mind, but he often let his impetuousness dash ahead of him. And most of the time it took his tongue along. Even so, Julian’s lack of control of his tongue was one of the expressly un-Cardassian things about him that Garak found quite endearing. Usually anyway. The badly timed stream of questions and information on Earth biology had almost had his _esch’arn_ joining his sheathed _esch’vra_.  
  
“Julian…”  
  
The voice was far too calm, even faintly sweet.  
  
Julian felt immediate fear.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
A growl echoed deep in Garak’s chest before he spoke.  
  
“ _Stop. Talking._ ”  
  
With wide eyes, Julian gave a tiny nod of agreement which Garak answered with a smile.  
  
Well, Julian thought that calling it a smile wasn’t quite right, but it certainly showed all of the Cardassian’s teeth.  
  
  
In one fluid movement, broad and strong hands had fastened on slim shoulders and shoved the Doctor back as grey lips silenced him. It was a deep kiss, starting slow and sensuous but boiling to a devouring crescendo. With each thrust of tongue, each nibble, each lick, Garak effectively cut the ties that were spinning a web of scientific curiosity in Julian‘s mind. Julian’s hands snaked up and around ridged shoulders, gently grasping and testing the unexplored scales there. By the time Garak pulled back, Julian’s lips were slick and slightly swollen from the kiss and the young Doctor was panting.  
  
Garak took a moment to admire the parted lips and hooded eyes before nipping along the jawbone to the exposed throat. He scraped his teeth along the bruises left there from previous attentions he had afforded it after he had proved the victor of their game. He smiled against the warm skin on an area as of yet unmarked, biting deeper on the very edge of his neck, just where the muscle of his shoulders joined. Fingers dug into his armored spinal ridge as Julian arched up towards him.  
  
Pleasure lanced through the tissue exposed between the scales of his neck ridges as a warm Human tongue began to lathe him. He felt his eyes drift closed as Julian bit down, his teeth a welcome brand. Nimble Human fingers slipped into his hair and rubbed firmly against the base of his skull as Julian moaned around his mouthful of scales. Garak felt him arching up off the bed. The slight touch of the Human’s hardened organ bumping into his stomach and skirting gently along the side of his esch’arn had him biting down harder on the unprotected muscles between his own teeth. A little sound of shock accompanied Julian’s mouth releasing its pressure for a split second. When the teeth returned with a savage grip, Garak rumbled out his appreciation and sucked hard at the flesh in his mouth.  
  
When Garak pulled away to look, a angry purple bruise greeted him, the edges marked with clear evidence of his teeth. Looking down at it, he was once again reminded of the strange frailty of his partner. He had been careful not to break the skin, but even so he had used a bit more force than was probably wise. A faint glimmer of uneasiness flitted across his mind. What if Julian’s answering bite had been intended as a warning?  
  
Julian shifted beneath him, baring the other side of his throat as he tried to press Garak back down into the exposed area. The pressure from the fingers currently tangled in the hair at the base of Garak’s skull chased away all unease. Julian made an impatient sound and pressed his fingers more firmly even as he tilted his head farther, blatantly offering it up for further branding. Possessiveness rolled over Garak as he watched the needy show of submission.  
  
What more evidence could he need?  
  
His head fell to the offered curve where he bit softly, first only glancing his teeth and tongue gently. Mirroring his movements, Julian skirted his teeth and tongue along the ridges that were now in reach on the other side of Garak’s neck. His teeth slid over the scales, seeking the thin, but ultra sensitive, traces of unguarded tissue that had emerged between them. When he bit and sucked with force, Garak offered the same treatment.  
  
Julian tried not to squirm as Garak set fire all along his neck and shoulders. He knew that there would be obvious evidence of the rough treatment left behind. Somehow, the thought of being marked by Garak sent a coiling heat into his abdomen. He wrapped a leg over grey hips, leveraging himself up off the bed as much as he could. He braced his other foot against a scaled calf, tracing the hard muscle there with the sole as he rocked his hips.  
  
His effort was rewarded when the head of his cock bumped along a scaled stomach, once again making contact with the wet and spurred hardness of Garak’s own erection. The spurs tickled along his foreskin and exposed glans, causing him to thrust harder. Slicked by Garak’s natural fluids, his cock slipped to the side, catching and rubbing along a hip ridge. The head bumped along the rippled path, sending matching little ripples of pleasure to both Human and Cardassian.  
  
When the thrusting became more aggressive, Garak decided he had waited long enough. After all, he had won their game, and he felt he was due a reward. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been enjoying himself, far from it actually, it was simply that he had certain things he wanted to do, and currently the lovely Doctor was showing increasing symptoms of trying to lead the encounter. There would be other times for that of course - Garak wasn’t averse to varied sexual experiences - but right now he wanted other things.  
  
He wanted to claim, to mark, to pin down his long desired partner and work him into a fury of need. He wanted to vent some of the frustration Julian had awoken in him, to watch him come undone by hands that itched to explore every smooth and golden plane. Yes, Garak thought he had waited quite long enough; it was time for him to enjoy the spoils he had earned.  
  
Julian made a sound of annoyed protest as Garak pulled out of his embrace. His feet lost their purchase when the Cardassian moved further down, effectively extricating his alien cock out of reach. Julian made a grab for ridges, but his hands were caught before they could reach their marks. A shift of grey fingers and his wrists were pinioned, the move was immediately followed by the weight of the heavy body above him pressing down on his lower abdomen. When he attempted a little shimmy to rub his cock along scaled flesh, a harsh bite was placed next to his nipple. He was unable to suppress the jerk away from the abusing teeth or the small cry of pain that accompanied the punishment.  
  
  
_“Ha resk ker’varna.”_     
  
Julian looked down to Garak, confusion edging along his brain from the phrase, ready to ask for clarification. Instead he saw the tip of Garak’s tongue dart out to trace the wounded flesh near his nipple even as Garak watched him with those blue eyes, peering intently from beneath his ridges. The question died on his lips as Garak began to lightly nip his way towards a pebbling nipple without breaking the intense gaze. He stopped just along the edge of the tightly drawn areola, pulling the skin with his teeth until Julian whimpered and arched his back to ease the sting. The edges of Garak’s lips curled in a smirk as he released the grip of his bite only to start again after the Human had sunk back down to the mattress.  
  
Garak was enjoying the flustered look on Julian’s face as the Human struggled to hold his gaze. His determination was admirable; he held on even as his lips trembled and gusty cries escaped between them. He lasted far longer than Garak would have guessed before those dark eyes dropped to the deliberately ignored nipple. Garak couldn’t hold in the dark chuckle as he finally closed his teeth on the curious little feature often adorning the males of mammalian based species. The Human gave up any attempts to reinstate eye contact as Garak tested the texture of the puckered skin between his lips. He rolled and sucked the nub, scraping it gently and then more firmly with his teeth. Julian was tossing his head back and forth and it was obvious that the small nub contained a large capacity for pleasure if Julian’s moans were any indication.  
  
Garak worked the adornment, enjoying the wrists twisting in his hands when he found a particularly effective caress. He took turns on each pebbled nipple, sliding his lips across the lightly furred expanse of Julian’s chest on his path between them. The hair tickled across his lips and ridges and he couldn’t resist tugging at them on each pass. He took care that he did it gently after his initial harsh tug was met with sounds of genuine discomfort. The nipples didn’t need such gentle treatment however, and Garak would alternately suck and kiss gently and then bite with a satisfying grip. The way Julian arched and bucked with the bites fueled Garak’s desire and by the time he reluctantly pulled his attention away from Julian’s chest, the Human was sporting reddened skin and clear indentions from Cardassian teeth.  
  
Julian adored it. Never had a partner spent so much time teasing him and accessing his capacity for rougher treatment. In the past Julian had always shied away from it, afraid of alarming someone with his enhanced abilities. What would a normal person be able to handle and what if he unwittingly showed that he had far more endurance than was normal? What if his partner was hurt if Julian forgot himself for a moment and didn’t use enough caution?  
  
There was no need to worry about that with Garak. He doubted Garak had been with a Human and therefore wouldn‘t notice if anything were amiss with his endurance. Julian certainly didn’t have to worry about injuring the much stronger Cardassian. He also had a fair bit of trust that Garak wouldn’t forget his own strength and do any serious damage.  
  
Julian fell back panting when Garak finally ceased his sweet torments on now extremely sensitized and slightly sore nipples. His eyes had drifted closed as he took a small break from all the sensations, but they shot open again as he felt Garak nudge at his underarm. He gave quite an involuntary jerk as he tried to move his shoulder and underarm out of reach, but this only served to allow room for the Cardassian’s face to press more firmly. A ridged nose pressed into the soft hair there and Julian tried to jerk his hands out of the grip that held them pinned.  
  
“Oh my god! Stop!” Julian gasped out his protest as Garak shifted his grip to the elbow of Julian’s arm and pushed it further aside. Julian writhed as he cried out small ‘no’s gasping and shivering at the intensity of sensation the gently nudging nose was producing. It tickled and yet it didn’t; his body was caught in a loop of deciding if the shocks of sensation he was experiencing with each nudge were pleasure or discomfort.  
  
For his part, Garak mostly ignored the mewling negatives that were rolling from Julian’s lips. He had no capacity for understanding the involuntary response known as tickling, since Cardassians didn’t experience it, but he had seen it in other species. He also knew enough to know when it became something unpleasant, and despite Julian’s protests, the Human wasn’t making any serious effort to escape. Besides, Garak was thoroughly enjoying the scent gathered in the soft down in which he currently had his nose nestled.  
  
The aroma was lovely, if not so brazenly sexual as the patch that adorned Julian’s body further down. Garak hissed, taking in scent and chuckling at the breathless laugh and arching body that greeted his actions. Here the scent of his Human’s sweat and pheromones told him of physical and mental exertion; the taxing nature of the hunt, the prowess of mind and body working together to elude capture. Across his tongue Garak tasted the evidence of Julian’s response to heat of both temperature and titillation. Also there was a tiny hint of trepidation, a small taste of fear. Garak growled deep in appreciation of such a delicious bouquet. Julian made a strangled sound and twisted enough that Garak feared for the Human’s joint.  
  
“Sorry dearest,” Garak apologized. “Your scent is intoxicating,” he offered as explanation while he kissed down along the curve of Julian’s ribs. The lovely thing only gave small ‘ah!’s  to each kiss.  
  
His Human’s skin was a wonder. It was firm enough to offer resistance, but soft enough to yield when pressure was applied. At a glance, it looked smooth and uniform, seeming to be a perfect fit for areas where the bone ran close to the surface. However, even though it appeared that there was no skin to spare over the ribs or clavicle, when Garak closed his lips and applied suction, the skin would rise to relive the vacuum, offering him the perfect opportunity to apply his teeth.  
  
Julian found no desire to do more than quiver and gasp as Garak took his time licking, kissing, suckling - and biting, oh gods, the biting- his way towards Julian’s straining sex. There was a path of red edged indentions from the Cardassian’s teeth all the way from his nipple to his navel. Julian’s always churning and whirling mind was awash in a rare moment of non-calculation. His awareness was suspended in a wavering pool of pleasure, gently rocked and swayed in the ripples created by Garak’s caresses.  
  
Only in his most private of moments was Julian allowed to let himself go, to release the self imposed reigns that were there in order to protect himself. Here, pinned down and at the mercy of someone he needn’t fear harming, Julian found an unexpected relief. No need to hide his strength, no need to calculate how much or how little to show of his intellect, no reason to hold back his desire or libido. As Garak gusted breath across his skin before offering the gentlest of kisses, or as he sank his teeth into skin in slightly vicious little bites, Julian found a measure of peace for which he hadn’t realized he was so desperate.  
  
Garak released one wrist and used his free hand to hook beneath Julian’s knee so he could spread his legs open wider. When teeth grazed the sensitive juncture of Julian’s thigh, he gave a cry and tangled his fingers in ebon hair. The skin was sucked into a hot mouth and branded with wicked teeth just as much of his body had already been marked. His cock jumped with the sensation and after a few moments of sucking new bruises in the sensitive flesh Garak’s attention moved towards the bobbing member.  
  
Garak knew from earlier that Human’s did not consider this act taboo or rare, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying the dynamic of which his partner was unaware. He watched Julian’s face, reveling in the power he held over him in this position. He had prevailed, and now his reward was spread beneath him, open and vulnerable. Ripe for the taking.  
  
A long stroke of a rough tongue had Julian arching up to look Garak in the eye once more as the Cardassian licked along his length. Garak looked obscene somehow; his eyes, shadowed in the dark room, gave him a menacing air as he swiped long licks along Julian’s smooth shaft before flicking the tip of his long tongue at the slight flare of the head. Julian was making small sounds of pleasure as Garak took his time exploring the Human’s cock, so different from his own.  
  
Small drops of clear fluid burst in salty sweetness upon his tongue as he lathed the strangely soft tip of the organ,s o different from the rest of the shaft. It was fascinating, the different texture of the skin there. It was drawn tight, hard and fairly unyielding as compared to the rest of the skin where he had left his marks bitten deep into tender flesh. Almost as if Julian could hear what he was thinking, the Human began to whimper out low entreaties of  “…Elim, please don’t…Don’t bite”  
  
Garak untangled the hand currently tugging painfully at his hair, grasping the wrist and pinning it while keeping Julian spread open with his elbow. Julian struggled, a heady mix of fear and excitement lancing through him as he watched Garak open his mouth above Julian’s vulnerable cock. White teeth flashed as grey lips pulled back threateningly before Julian found the head of his cock enclosed in Garak’s mouth. The scrape of teeth, ever so gentle, tugged at his foreskin, forcing it up and over his plump glans. The sensation of the edge of bone along his most delicate organ sparked something in Julian’s mind, a tripwire of over-stimulation. His head fell back on the bed, unable to bear the sensory input of both sight and touch and he began to beg without thought.  
  
“Please…please don’t.”  
  
When Garak ghosted his teeth all the way down the shaft, engulfing the Human’s whole length as he went, Garak could feel the fine tremors in Julian’s thighs as the younger man pleaded with broken words and gasps. He swallowed a few times, purposely caressing the head of Julian’s cock. “ _Don’t bite_ … _don’t bite_ …” Julian whimpered as he begged, and though Garak had no intention of biting him in such a delicate area, the threat of doing so was beautifully unraveling his usually verbose partner.  
  
The heady wash of having power over another flooded the Cardassian’s brain and he began to growl and thrum as he worked over his Human’s cock. He gulped it hungrily into  his mouth, burying his face in that deliciously explicit scent each time his nose met the soft patch of hair at the base of Julian’s cock. He pulled roughly at the twitching member, suckling the strange sheath of skin over the spongy head as he moved up and down. Just to remind Julian of the precarious position he was in, and to evoke more of that desperate pleading, he occasionally scraped his teeth along the shaft.  
  
Julian could feel the pleasure building once more, a cresting wave pulling him inexorably to climax. Each slight scrape of teeth sent sparks white bursting along his spine. He could feel the vibration from Garak’s strange thrumming traveling all the way to the root of his cock, nestled beneath skin and bone. He pulled against his pinned wrists, forgetting that they were held captive for the moment. A harsh growl against his cock and a tighter grip answered in warning.  
  
Suddenly, Julian felt his orgasm upon him. He grated out a harsh, “Garak!” his mental functions relapsing to the most used name of  his partner in a moment of pure instinct.  
  
The sound of Julian’s voice burst upon Garak’s ears, even as bitter fluid burst into his mouth. It erupted in hot pulses, the force of it catching the Cardassian off guard. Even the way his alien climaxed was different. He groaned as he swallowed every drop down, each offering shooting wetly into his mouth and throat. He sucked even after the fluid had stopped coming, listening to Julian’s cries. His lover’s voice was verging on desperate as Garak continued to suckle his spent cock. Julian thrashed beneath him, pulling up to arch from the bed as he tried to dislodge his over sensitized cock from the Cardassian’s greedy pull.    
  
When Julian‘s voice became near hysterical, his Human hissing out, “Too much, too much!” Garak finally let him go. He watched as Julian fell back against the bed, his chest rising and falling rapidly where he fell, momentarily free from Garak’s attentions. Garak watched as Julian’s cock began to return to its original size, the blood that had previously filled it retreating. Garak looked down at his own _esch’arn_ , still full and unsheathed. It was still waiting patiently for the final exploration of which Garak had briefly researched in preparation for this night.  
  
Looking down at his recovering Human, Garak thought he had been patient enough.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Garak says, "The conquered comply." In my head, this would be a rather common phrase of Cardassian's, though I dare say none but Garak would use it in the boudoir. The thought process being that Cardassian's believe they are the conquerors, and those they conquer should realize this and in turn accept it as matter of course. However, the touch of irony is that Garak himself refuses to give up his hopes for Cardassia, and neither would he be interested in Julian if he didn't show such wonderful sparks of challenge. So really, I think Garak is just turning the phrase into some nice, Cardassian dirty talk. And since it's my story, my headcanon is law. So there.
> 
> As always, questions or comments are appreciated! Thanks for reading!


End file.
